We’re Excited About SQL Server 2019, Here’s Why

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Microsoft SQL Server 2019 is out in preview and it’s got some exciting new features. When Microsoft announced the release at their Ignite 2018 conference on Sept 24th, we couldn’t wait to see what was in store. This newest offering will continue to build on the solid foundation of SQL servers while expanding offerings of flexibility and further embracing big data by adding support for Kubernetes, Apache Spark, and Hadoop clusters.

Embraces Big Data – Probably the biggest change to SQL 2019 is the ability to manage big data clusters. Big data has always been a bit of a gap in the arsenal of Microsoft’s SQL servers, but not anymore. With SQL 2019, Microsoft is fully embracing big data with Kubernetes. Kubernetes is an open-source container-based platform that represents exciting new possibilities for this SQL engine. With SQL on Kubernetes you will be able to can create high availability solutions with Linux containers and manage multiple data sources all in one place.

Manage Relational and Non-Relational Data – The new engine can query data from a number of different sources, including relational and non-relational data storage. Microsoft has built in native support of Apache Spark and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) to simplify data management and improve big data implementations.

Virtualization Improves Data Management – By using PolyBase Data Virtualization, SQL 2019 will create a virtual data layer for your applications to draw upon. That data layer can be sourced from a number of different locations, including SQL Servers, Oracle, MongoDB, Spark, SAP, Terradata, and more. This makes it so much easier for you to manage your data and utilize data science. enabling you to query data from a range of relational or non-relational data sources.

Other Notable New Features –

SQL 2019 Supports New Languages – The accessibility enhancements don’t stop there. Microsoft has extended the language capabilities of the engine to ensure that the most modern programs are made easily accessible. SQL 2019 will be able to natively run programs written in Java and Scala, as well as Python and T-SQL and Node.js.

Intelligent Query Processing – This feature is a step up from previous Adaptive Query Processing capabilities. It enhances mission critical performance by adapting to your performance needs in real time and tuning accordingly, increasing performance and scalabiliy.

Management Tools - Several tools in Azure’s Data Studio notebook have been designed to further improve data management. For example, there is a new graph to help track and manages your spark queries. Other new tools are designed to help data scientist more efficiently utilize your data with formatting corrections, etc.

Enhanced Always Encrypted – Microsoft SQL Server has been listed by NIST as the least vulnerable database for the past 8 years (per Microsoft). SQL 2019 doesn’t drop that ball. Instead it ups the ante by improving upon it’s Always Encrypted feature with the addition of secure enclaves. When Always Encrypted was released with SQL 2016 it was an instant hit enabling increased security to sensitive data and keeping it securely on the client side. Of course, this delineation means restricted functionality for this secure data. The secure enclaves create regional “black boxes” in the SQL server that will allow computations on the secured data.

Microsoft aims to make this the most interactive SQL yet, and relies on user feedback to enhance and improve their offerings. They plan to release a new Community Technology Preview (CTP) each month, the newest release was announced by Rohan Kumar at the Nov 7th PAAS conference. If you are interested in reading more about SQL 2019, check out the information here.

Dobler Consulting is a full spectrum database service with 10 years of experiencing helping companies strategize and execute workload management solutions. Dobler Consulting is a Microsoft Gold Partner and can help you plan or execute your database strategies no matter where you are in the process. For more information about Dobler Consulting and Microsoft SQL 2019, visit www.doblerconsulting.com or call us at +1 (813) 322-3240 (US) /+1 (416) 646-0651 (Canada).